The University of Maryland will remain standardized test-optional through the fall 2025 admissions cycle, according to an email from undergraduate admissions director Shannon Gundy.
The new extension adds two more years of test-optional admissions — this university implemented a test-optional policy in 2020 that was initially extended through the 2023 admissions cycle. The University System of Maryland voted in June to remove the systemwide standardized test requirement but allowed for individual schools to set their own requirements.
Test-optional students will have the same opportunities for merit scholarships, limited enrollment programs and special programs, Gundy wrote. The decision will assure that students are not put at a disadvantage due to their ability and accessibility to prepare for standardized tests, she added.
“[W]e utilize an individualized, holistic application review process in which all available information about the student’s educational and co-curricular experiences and performances are considered,” she wrote. “As a result, a student’s decision to apply without the submission of their standardized tests does not negatively impact their admission outcome.”
To determine the use of test-optional beyond 2025, the Office of Undergraduate Admissions, Academic Technology and Innovation and Institutional Research Planning and Assessment are conducting a study analyzing the impact of test-optional policies on student performance and academic success.
